Originally Published in Hartfordfavs.com The recent film “Innocence of Muslims” which sparked riots and protests around the Muslim world was not the worst or last deranged attempt to ignite unjust hatred. Indeed, since Prophet Muhammad’s birth to a beautiful couple named Aminah and Abdullah, the meek, poor, unlettered orphan of Arabia’s desert has tearfully been the target of...
Originally Published in The Santa Barbara Independent & Santa Maria Times As a 23-year-old Ahmadi Muslim American, I condemn the actions of the so-called Muslim youth in California arrested for planning to join a terrorist organization. Their belief that Islam advocates violence goes against Islam’s teaching. Prophet Muhammad taught that loyalty to one’s country is part of one’s faith. A...
Originally Published in The Hartford Courant. This holiday season, many of us gather around a table to enjoy good food and company for the sake of Thanksgiving. But how do we really show that we are thankful? As American Muslims of the Ahmadiyya Community, we believe the best way for us to show our thanks is by serving mankind, particularly those of our nation, America. Many Americans have still...
Originally Published on HartfordFavs.com “Anything you can do, I can do better. I can do anything better than you. No, you can’t. Yes, I can. No, you can’t. Yes, I can…” Though only some know the Broadway musical to which these charmingly obnoxious lyrics belong, all of us are undeniably accustomed to such immature vanity. The real life repercussions of this age-old feud...
Originally Posted on The Hartford FAVS Instead of shopping this Black Friday, why don’t we consider the ones who lost everything? My Ahmadi Muslim brothers had the best response after Hurricane Sandy devasted homes. We traveled to New York and joined volunteers with Humanity First and the American Red Cross. We dove right in to aide several families, removing rubble from destroyed homes. “An...
Originally Published in The Daily Times, Pakistan. On October 30, Pakistan took the proverbial human rights ‘hot seat’ in Geneva at the United Nations Human Rights Council’s second ever Universal Periodic Review (UPR). This unique process mandates that all 193 UN Member States submit to an examination of their human rights record once every four years. In the span of four hours, all UN Member...
Originally Published in The Asbury Park Press I am an Ahmadi Muslim of Pakistani origin. Now 41 years old and a recent naturalized U.S. citizen, I shall, for the first time in my life, exercise my right to vote. I consider this civil right to be of utmost importance, but could not freely vote in my native Pakistan. To vote in Pakistan, the Pakistani constitution requires that I first declare...
Originally Published in The Express Tribune Consider this before buying your next Umra package: Jabbarsahib can grab your shoulder, beam you to the Kaaba from anywhere in the world, where you can offer prayers and return back home in no time. The idea is laughable on many accounts. It rejects physical laws, discards scientific evidence, and makes a mockery of Islamic practices too. Add to the...
Though I was born in Pakistan, I was still a baby when my dad had to move to The Gambia in West Africa. The Gambia is a small peaceful country. Here, I remember my mother teaching me the Urdu Qaida and telling me interesting stories about Pakistan. I could see she missed Pakistan a great deal. She would sometimes break down in tears, relating stories of the persecution she had witnessed growing...
Purchase the book here: Why Write This Book? May 28, 2012 was the 2-year anniversary of the Taliban’s attack on two mosques in Lahore, Pakistan. That day, the Taliban murdered 86 Ahmadi Muslims and 1 Christian. The Pakistani Police watched it happen from a safe distance, and even now have made no arrests. Why? The Wrong Kind of Muslim is the first book of its kind. It relates these untold...